Oops, I take that back - I was thinking your race is Sunday, but I see it is Saturday. Still not great, but better. If you get an early morning breeze off the lake, and maybe some high lake clouds, it could be pretty decent if you are lucky, even if it gets warm later in the day. Keeping my fingers crossed...

I'm obsessing and checking the hourly forecast every few hours! So far the hourly still looks OK for faster runners. Not optimal, but not terrible either and it should be a few degrees cooler by the water. I might run into issues at the end though since I am slow and it will start heating up by the time I finish.

Alex - You've been a machine this entire training cycle. Do not let something like the weather take your day from you. Don't even worry about it. You should be confident at this point that you are going to accomplish what you're going out there to accomplish.

@jon c wrote:Wishing you good luck and hopefully the weather will cooperate. After what happened at Green Bay yesterday, who knows what the day will bring. It has been a strange spring.

Looks to me like you are about as ready as you can be (and you just said that anyway ). Go out and have an awesome race!

Thanks Jon. I'm ready to go.

@Michael Enright wrote:Oops, I take that back - I was thinking your race is Sunday, but I see it is Saturday. Still not great, but better. If you get an early morning breeze off the lake, and maybe some high lake clouds, it could be pretty decent if you are lucky, even if it gets warm later in the day. Keeping my fingers crossed...

No matter the weather I plan to enjoy the race.

@carleenp wrote:I'm obsessing and checking the hourly forecast every few hours! So far the hourly still looks OK for faster runners. Not optimal, but not terrible either and it should be a few degrees cooler by the water. I might run into issues at the end though since I am slow and it will start heating up by the time I finish.

I've checked a couple of times. I figure it's out of my control so I try not to think about it too much. Hopefully regardless we have good runs. See you there.

@Mike MacLellan wrote:Alex - You've been a machine this entire training cycle. Do not let something like the weather take your day from you. Don't even worry about it. You should be confident at this point that you are going to accomplish what you're going out there to accomplish.

Mike, the plan is to toe the line and run as hard as I can for 26.2. Mentally I'm ready for it and hopefully physically I am too.

3:25:16. I missed by 16 seconds. A GI pit stop at 15 cost me the BQ as I lost a couple of minutes. Couldn't believe that happened. I couldn't finish any stronger than I did. I PR'd by over 8min but it'll take me a bit to get over this.

First, congrats on a huge PR, a great training cycle and what must have been a phenomenal race. I checked the weather just before you posted, and that looked quite good.Second, I'm sure it's frustrating to miss your goal by 16 seconds, but shit happens (literally!) and you will surpass that in your next race, I am sure, based on how you've been progressing. Remember - the title is "First at Bat" - you just need to bat again!Rest up, enjoy the area, and set your next sights wherever that may be.Awesome job!

@Alex Kubacki wrote:3:25:16. I missed by 16 seconds. A GI pit stop at 15 cost me the BQ as I lost a couple of minutes. Couldn't believe that happened. I couldn't finish any stronger than I did. I PR'd by over 8min but it'll take me a bit to get over this.

Oh crud! But congrats on the big PR! Given that you lost time from the bathroom break instead of fading on your pace, you should be looking good for your next attempt.

That is so close, Alex! Reminds me of how it took several misses of a minute or two before I finally got over the BQ line. Frustrating for sure, however it does show that you are MORE than capable of a BQ. So in essence, you've got that in the bag for next time.

@Michael Enright wrote:First, congrats on a huge PR, a great training cycle and what must have been a phenomenal race. I checked the weather just before you posted, and that looked quite good.Second, I'm sure it's frustrating to miss your goal by 16 seconds, but shit happens (literally!) and you will surpass that in your next race, I am sure, based on how you've been progressing. Remember - the title is "First at Bat" - you just need to bat again!Rest up, enjoy the area, and set your next sights wherever that may be.Awesome job!

Thanks Michael. I plan to run Hartford in the fall. Good luck today.

@carleenp wrote:Oh crud! But congrats on the big PR! Given that you lost time from the bathroom break instead of fading on your pace, you should be looking good for your next attempt.

Thanks Carleen. Sorry I didn't get to meet you.

@Mike MacLellan wrote:Damnit! That is so frustrating, man. You know what, though? You were probably in 3:20 shape. Meaning as soon as you recover, you could very possibly try again.

Thanks Mike. I think the 3:20 might have been a stretch. I've got a 12HR I'm doing in about 8 weeks so I'll just wait until the fall.

@jon c wrote:That is so close, Alex! Reminds me of how it took several misses of a minute or two before I finally got over the BQ line. Frustrating for sure, however it does show that you are MORE than capable of a BQ. So in essence, you've got that in the bag for next time.